Crush: a strong and often short-lived infatuation, particularly for someone beyond your reach…

Darcy Barrett has undertaken a global survey of men. She’s travelled the world, and can categorically say that no one measures up to Tom Valeska, whose only flaw is that Darcy’s twin brother Jamie saw him first and claimed him forever as his best friend. Despite Darcy’s best efforts, Tom’s off limits and loyal to her brother, 99%. That’s the problem with finding her dream man at age eight and peaking in her photography career at age twenty—ever since, she’s had to learn to settle for good enough.

When Darcy and Jamie inherit a tumble-down cottage from their grandmother, they’re left with strict instructions to bring it back to its former glory and sell the property. Darcy plans to be in an aisle seat halfway across the ocean as soon as the renovations start, but before she can cut and run, she finds a familiar face on her porch: house-flipper extraordinaire Tom’s arrived, he’s bearing power tools, and he’s single for the first time in almost a decade.

Suddenly Darcy’s considering sticking around to make sure her twin doesn’t ruin the cottage’s inherent magic with his penchant for grey and chrome. She’s definitely not staying because of her new business partner’s tight t-shirts, or that perfect face that's inspiring her to pick up her camera again. Soon sparks are flying—and it’s not the faulty wiring. It turns out one percent of Tom’s heart might not be enough for Darcy anymore. This time around, she’s switching things up. She’s going to make Tom Valeska 99 percent hers.

The Hating Game was one of my favourite reads of 2016, so safe to say that I was extremely excited to get my hands on Sally’s latest novel, 99 Percent Mine. This novel is not out until 29 January, so a big shout out to my friend Alana, who managed to convince the Netgalley fairies at Hachette Australia to provide an eARC for me to read and review.

If you’re looking for a great summer beach read for those residing in the southern hemisphere right now, then look no further than 99 Percent Mine. It has all the right ingredients for the ultimate swoon read, and I guarantee that any romance/chick lit lover will devour this novel in a matter of hours. I know I did.

For those that have read The Hating Game, our protagonist for 99 Percent Mine is nothing like the sweet and small Lucy we all met and loved in Sally’s previous novel. Darcy Barrett could eat Lucy for dinner — in a good way! She’s sassy and fierce, in a way that’s completely different to Lucy, and it’s pretty hard not to root for her. An avid traveller that never stays in the same place for long, for the first time in years, Darcy is living in the inherited run-down cottage of her grandmother, which she and her twin brother co-own. They’re left with the instructions to restore it for sale, and her brother’s sent his best friend Tom to help with the renovations.

As her brother’s best friend, Tom Valeska is definitely off limits. And Darcy is totally fine to only have 1 percent of him. But even with all of her travelling, she’s never come close to finding someone quite like Tom. 99 Percent Mine follows a cliched plotline, but I can definitely forgive this because as with Sally’s previous debut novel, the story is driven by the characters you meet. Darcy and Tom are entirely different to Lucy and Josh, yet the same kind of romantic magic leaps off the pages. I adored the slow burn romance and even the cliched “he’s-broken-up-with-his-fiancee-but-hasn’t-told-her-yet” plot because the reveal was just so satisfying.

Sally, you’ve done it again. I cannot wait to see what you come up with next!

Thank you to Hachette Australia for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Joy is the head honcho of Thoughts By J. Her favourite genres are fantasy, sci-fi, mysteries, and the occasional romance that makes her heart beat faster. You'll find she's quite sporadic with her blog posts, but will definitely find the time to reply to all your comments, and visit your blogs...it's just a matter of when.

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The books and items reviewed on Thoughts By J are purchased by us unless explicitly specified. We occasionally receive books for review from Australian publishers in exchange for an honest review. Thoughts By J does not receive monetary compensation for our reviews or posts.